ONE hundred and twenty health professionals have left Ghana for Antigua under the Ghana Labour Exchange Programme (GLEP).
Also traveling with them is a Human Resource person to coordinate their stay in the Caribbean country.
Under the auspices of the Ministries of Health and Special Initiatives, the health practitioners have signed a three year renewable contract with the Island country.
They were seen off by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama.
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Briefing the media at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra yesterday, the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandor, said the deployment formed part of the government's intervention to export excess labour.
"Today, it is Antigua. There's work ongoing on Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
"We'll be following your progress with keen interest. As you leave, be reminded that you are carrying the flag of Ghana with you. Therefore, we urge you to work with diligence and professionalism," Mr Akandoh said.
He said whilst the government was working to absorb the over 80,000 unemployed health professionals it inherited, it also exploring opportunities that exist elsewhere where across the globe to export as much as possible based on demands.
Mr Akandoh encouraged the yet to be employed health professionals to keep their fingers crossed and await for their opportunity whether local or abroad.
The Minister for Special Initiatives, Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, giving further details said Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago have also requested for 200 health professionals each adding that recruitment for the Channel Islands was concluded.
He said under the GLEP, request from Europe, the Americas, Japan and Australia have come in for other professionals, skilled and unskilled.
Mr Agyekum, MP, Nkoranza South, said the criteria for selection was through a fair and transparent means with applicants having to go through rigorous interviews jointly done by Ghana and the requesting country.
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"This team going to Antigua had to go through a rigorous interview. They went through two interviews. Their CVs, certificates, transcripts and references were meticulously vetted," he explained.
The government, Mr Agyekum said, remained committed to creating decent jobs for Ghanaians and would continue to explore opportunities, home or abroad, for Ghana's teeming unemployed youth.
The GLEP is a government initiative to create structured, ethical overseas job placements for Ghanaian skilled and unskilled workers, aiming to reduce youth unemployment, boost foreign exchange, and build a globally competitive workforce.
